Through Dance and Song, Usher Honors History and Cements his Legacy at the Super Bowl - Blog

Usher’s historic Super Bowl performance paid homage to musical legends past while cementing his own status as an icon. The celebrated singer spoke of the moment’s deeper significance in the days leading up to the big show. He reflected on Black entertainers who faced legal oppression yet continued sharing their art, and recent cases targeting musicians like Young Thug.

Stepping onto that gilded stage, then, held personal meaning for Usher. “I’m coming through the front door with this one,” he said, ready to claim space that had long been denied. And claim it he did from the first soulful notes of “My Way.” Emerging majestic in white, his dance mesmerized with Jacksonian flair beside renowned choreographic genius Sean Bankhead.

© Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Roc Nation

This was no mere spectacle, Usher emphasized. Battling naysayers, he had persevered to stand there triumphant. With that, he led the rapt crowd in a joyous singalong of his timeless hit “Superstar.”

But Usher aimed to do more than celebrate his own journey. Transporting the audience, he recreated the “Yard” – the lifeblood of Historically Black Colleges. Joined by the illustrious Jackson State marching band, they performed “Love in This Club” alongside fraternity brothers.

Keys then appeared for an embrace resembling a “homecoming hug” – another cherished HBCU ritual. Nostalgia deepened as Dupri hailed Confessions’ 20th and transported the stadium to black cultural epicenter Atlanta. There, legendary spirits undoubtedly cheered as Usher mesmerized under a purple haze.

While starting with the exuberance of a youthful prodigy, by the show’s end Usher’s charisma and sensuality were undisputed. Gliding on like a football god in Off-White attire, he closed with the beloved “Yeah!” Skating, integral to Atlanta, is part of Usher’s identity and passion.

This glittering performance fulfilled a lifelong mission, as Usher had vowed, to stand on that stage and make his ancestors proud. Claiming the torch passed by icons past, he reminded the world that the South still leads culturally. With Ludacris, Lil Jon, and his own players, Usher took the world to the A in a coronation 30 years in the making.